Quetta, Nov 22 (IANS) Another Baloch civilian fell victim to enforced disappearance and torture at the hands of Pakistani security forces in Balochistan, resulting in his death, a leading human rights organisation said on Saturday.
The latest act of brutality comes against the backdrop of a continuing cycle of persecution marked by a surge in extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances and torture across the province.
Human rights body Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) mentioned that Ajaz Baloch, a 27-year-old shopkeeper, was forcibly disappeared on November 16 from Kunchati Dasht region in Kech district of Balochistan by personnel of Pakistan’s Frontier Corps (FC).
Citing locals, the rights body stated that Ajaz was later shifted to Turbat Civil Hospital in a critically injured state, half-conscious and bearing severe injuries caused by brutal custodial violence. He succumbed to his injuries on November 19.
“According to witnesses, his body bore clear signs of intense physical torture, indicating he was subjected to harsh custodial violence. These recurring incidents have deepened fear within the local population, who continue to live under psychological and physical distress due to the rising pattern of enforced disappearances, torture, and killings across Balochistan,” the BYC mentioned
The rights body stressed that the death of Ajaz once again exposed the “worsening human rights situation in Balochistan, where families routinely endure the trauma of enforced disappearances and the recovery of tortured bodies”.
Meanwhile, Paank, the Baloch National Movement’s Human Rights Department, revealed that in the early hours of Saturday, a 15-year-old girl, Nasreena Baloch, was forcibly disappeared by Pakistani security forces and intelligence agency personnel after they raided a house in the Daroo area of Hub Chowki in the province.
Highlighting another incident of brutal killing in Balochistan, the BYC stated that Ismail Baloch, son of Elahi Bakhsh, a 25-year-old labourer and resident of Khuzdar district, was extrajudicially killed by Pakistani security forces.
According to the rights body, Ismail was forcibly disappeared on November 18 by a Pakistan state-backed death squad from the Surab region in Balochistan.
It added that the following day, his body was recovered from the Baghbana area of Khuzdar, bearing multiple bullet wounds, confirming that he had been extrajudicially killed while in custody.
“The killing of Ismail Baloch underscores the ongoing pattern of enforced disappearances, custodial torture, and extrajudicial executions carried out by state-backed armed groups across Balochistan,” the BYC noted.
–IANS
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